Cancer is a journey that changes the patient, changes the family and friends and everyone who cares about or knows the patient. Miles Levin brought the world into that circle through the blog he wrote on his journey as a teenager suffering from rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer which eventually claimed his life just days shy of his 19th birthday.

As he shared his thoughts and feelings, and the insights that led him, as his father Jon Levin wrote in “Keep Fighting, Stop Struggling: The Miles Levin Story” to “look squarely at death,” he voiced the following concern: “Dying is not what scares me, it’s dying and having had no impact.”

The powerful chronicle created by Miles Levin and shared in his father’s book did help to change the life course of another young man who has found inspiration and purpose in his words.

Jared Sherman, 15, says that he had a rough three years of middle school. “I was always angry,” he said, “upset with how people were being treated.” In eighth grade, he says, “I realized I had to do something in myself. You only have one life and you have to make the most of it.”

Advertisement

A chance meeting with Jon Levin while both were out riding their bikes turned out to be a turning point for Sherman.

Levin says that he saw Sherman coming in the opposite direction and asked the guys with whom he was riding to encourage him.

After reading Levin’s book, Sherman said to his parents, Larry and Joyce Sherman, “I’m so sad. I have to do something. Do you think I could call Jon? Maybe he could teach me how to ride.”

To help Sherman, Levin got him to join a regular Sunday spinning class with members of Team Alex, which rides to raise funds for the Make a Wish foundation in memory of Alex Graham, another remarkable young person who strove to create a legacy from a life cut too short by cancer.

“I was just taking Jared to an exercise opportunity,” said Levin.

But Sherman had found the challenge he needed. He decided that he wanted to ride with the team on their annual 300-mile ride. Not everyone was convinced. “You’re too little to do this,” was the response. But Sherman had found a mission. “I just wanted to make a difference in the lives of others.”

In order to participate, Sherman had to ride with an adult. He approached Levin. “No way would I have ridden 300 miles in 3 days,” laughed Levin. “I was like ‘no way, you’re gonna do it,’” said Sherman. The two trained, traveled to the race together and shared the journey, recalling the weather, the aches and pains and the triumph of completing the grueling ride.

“I was so happy to be under Jon’s wing, to fulfill something that would change my life,” says Sherman, who wants to ride competitively. He is now starting his own charity spinning class and plans to either recruit other riders for Team Alex or form his own team. “He put time and patience. He took his knowledge and gave it to me. I’m so thankful for people who donated because I could not have done it without them and without Jon.”

Sherman attributes much of his growing sense of the value of his own time to Miles Levin’s reflections, one in particular, in which he talked about having a bucket of golf balls at a driving range:

“If you keep hitting them all, you waste the shots. But when you get to the bottom of the bucket, you have to make each one count,” Sherman paraphrased. “Miles taught me valuable meanings about life. He persevered when he faced adversity in his life. I want to spread the story from my own experience.”

About the Author

Beth Robinson writes about "Unsung Heroes," people who would don't normally get any recognition for their actions. Reach the author at bethrobinson1835@gmail.com
.